A Savage Factory: An Eyewitness Account of the Auto Industry's Self-Destruction

by Robert J. Dewar

A Savage Factory is a true memoir straight from the factory floor of an automotive giant losing the global auto war to smaller, weaker, less experienced foreign competitors that beat us at our own game on our own turf. It gives an inside look, up close, at incompetent management at war with the labor force that created a quality nightmare and caused the car buying public to lose trust and faith in American cars. It is a true story of the inner workings of Ford's largest automatic transmission the people, the machines, and the never ending war between management and labor that produced low quality cars that opened the door for foreign competitors to come to our country and take our auto market. It gives real life examples of the battlefield like conditions in the auto plants that caused alcoholism, drug addition, sexual harassment, and family breakdown, while producing transmissions that received the largest recall in automotive history and would have caused Ford Motor Company to go bankrupt had the Federal Government not intervened.

Genres: History, Business

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 4, 2009

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Savage Factory can is best explained in the title. I get the feeling that Mr. Dewar did in fact witness the self destruction of one auto company by the way they chose to do business, at least in the early to late 1970's. The book starts with an MBA recently separated from Proctor and Gamble looking to earn a large sum of money by working for Ford Motor Company. He is only there to earn just enough so that he can pay off his mortgage and earn some start up capital to fund is own business. He is then led by his boss on a tour of the factory. He is then sent to the General Foremans office to get his assignemnt, which is foreman of the torque converter department. His management training lasts all of 45 minutes and he is expected to produce 2400 torque converters in a 12 hour shift. He is quickly overwhelmed by the position and must deal with other foremen, his Senior Foreman, the hourly employees and shop stewards from the UAW. The only way he can make his numbers is to allow his workers certain freedoms not granted by other foremen, and to take shield his men from management abuse. For a while all was well until his Senior Foreman berrates him for cooperating with the hourly instead of "making" them get their numbers. Things go from bad to worse as he is transferred to the midnight shift and must deal with an mentally unstable worker, a drunk worker, and a General Foreman named "Screamin' Jim".
The stories Mr. Dewar tells of Ford's management and hourly behavior are incredible, sickening and downright horrifing. Mr. Dewar does admit years later that Ford has changed its ways but it may have been too little too late.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in industrial history, Ford history or is a certified car nut.

[Mary-Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nursing a bum ankle at home today, so can't do much else but read. Luckily I have two brand-new (both published in 2009) accounts of the inner workings of Ford Motor Company--and both are reasonably well-written. This one has typos throughout, it's true, but I couldn't help but overlook them, since there is just so much craziness in the book that I could relate to from my experience (1998-2001) at the Ford Rawsonville Plant.

[Brian Grilli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not really a big car guy, but I don't think you have to be to enjoy this book. This was an interesting and quick read about the dark ages of the American Automobile Industry. If you didn't know Ford was a car company, you would think it was a circus or an insane asylum by the the authors account of his time at Ford Motor Company. The book covers the complacency of the industry, the invasion of foreign brands, and the overall toxic culture that undoubtedly led to early graves for many workers in the American auto industry. I think this would be a good read for anyone interested in history, labor relations, and yes, cars.

[Tania Pratnicki Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

The horror stories of life in an auto plant in the 70's and early 80's are believable, to be sure, but the author paints a one sided only negative picture. He is also negatively biased about Crop. America as evidenced by not only his severe criticism of Ford but his prior employer, P&G, as well. It was a different time then and certainly lots to criticize, however, things were 100% bad and the author neglects to tell any of the good human or Corp. side stories, other than about himself as he makes himself out to be a bit of a shinning light in a sea of darkness. There was darkness to be sure but there was also many good people at all levels as well.

[Chris Waltham · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting and eye-opening look at Ford's factory operations in the 1960s and 1970s, centering on the factory operations and the "colorful" things that went on there.

Very few books center on factory operations at the automakers, and fewer still present an unvarnished look at management/labor and union relations. For those two aspects alone, this book was worth the price of admission.

Judging by the cover art this book was self-published, which is a bit of a shame as I think it's worthy of a wider audience: anyone who's interested in *how* big automakers work (or worked) should give it a read.

[Christine Kenney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Darkly comedic indictment of industrialized production. The culture here seems more plausible than the "quality management" culture described in Goldratt's The Goal which was my only exposure to factory operations in business school. However, what bothered me was the schadenfreude motives of the whole thing, to wait 25 years to publish to have the satisfaction of saying "I told you so" seems so petty, unconstructive and out of character with the maverick idealist the author seemed to be for most of he time working in the factory.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at a Ford transmission plant during the 70's. As a former foreman, the author is more sympathetic to the union than I would have expected, but the mutual animosity between the two sides, combined with a focus on numbers at the expense of quality, and of corporate management that was too hands-off with it's plants, contributed to the awful cars that nearly killed (and may yet still kill) Detroit.

[Dale Castronuevo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy-to-read book that effectively showcases the horrors of brute-force management within the auto industry. As I read on, the authority figures' behavior seemed so bizarre at times almost to the point of becoming comical. However, the characters are indeed based on, as the title states, a very real eyewitness account. I certainly appreciate the work culture in my life to a greater degree.

Remember, motivating employees and treating them fairly are not mutually exclusive.

[Bill Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quite interesting and tells the tales of the auto industry's foibles during the great decline during the 1970's. It portrays the harsh realities that plagued workers and illustrates the conditions which have defined working in manufacturing as negative, which still exist, in some regards, today.

Definitely a worthwhile read for those interested in the auto industry.

[Greg Swallow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would have been a great book if it were published in 1985. Still, it was an entertaining read. There will be no demise of Ford Motor Company, at least not in my generation, and the scene in this book is set twenty years past.

[Dan Richter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a hard time putting this book down. Dewar provides political insights about life inside a suburban Cincinnati Ford plant, giving the reader an understanding of the eventual demise of this once powerful industry.

[Cindy Raquepau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Management sucks, I thought it was the hourly workers' fault

[J.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read, albeit riddled with typos. Brought back memories of inspecting parts in GM plants during my days co-oping at a supplier.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent first-line management view of the inside of Ford. You ever wonder why their cars were terrible and they lost so much market share? This book will show you.

[Wes Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book - it explains a lot - the quality of the cars built in the 70's by the Big 3 US automakers was poor at best.

[Charmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this for my MGMT class. It really was agood read.

[Chris Owens · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not by a professional writer, and it doesn't seem to have been edited by a professional editor.

Also, this is not a management manual full of aphorisms and advice that will wildly improve your career.

Okay now that's out of the way, it's a funny/sad/bitter memoir about being a line manager in a Ford factory in a time of incredibly bad labor relations and a corporate culture that had completely forgotten there ever was a bottom line. It's 1001 cautionary tales of how not to run your company, and how how the additive effects of assorted problems combine into huge messes.

Do beware that although the author portrays himself as the good guy, even his actions are sometimes questionable.

The value of the book is that these are real situations that affected a real factory in a real company, so as case studies alone it is worth reading.

[EstelleLiterature · Rating 5 out of 5]

The EU directives are changing how the auto-industry now looks at itself, switching from internal combustion to electric-battery driven cars. This book doesn't recount Ford's brass-knuckle methods to discipline union leaders, but it portrays globalisation's potent force, in its full twenty-first century panorama, and shows how it killed the US auto-industry and employment by shipping jobs abroad.

[Trudy Nye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once you read this, you will understand why in the '70s and '80s we said that FORD stood for Fix Or Repair Daily...and why by the '90s most American cars were being purchased by WWII vets while the rest of us bought Japanese or German imports.

[Ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

author shares how he changed jobs to work at ford motor company. it is a dreadful experience as fear rules the day in almost every decision that is made.

he kept notes thinking that some day ford would collapse and he would have the explanation as to why? exhausting, insightful.

[Dylan Short]

Simply WOW! An amazing story that is stranger than fiction.

[Joel Spitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome book to read. Maybe I’m bias because I work in the auto industry, but it’s such a relatable book that keeps your interest.

[Ben Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hilarious look into the world of mid-century American industry and the rotten state of the American auto industry. "Savage Factory" is much better than the homemade cover art would suggest.

[Ross Kirkpatrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent example of what was wrong with traditional mass production and how toxic workplace relations effect the end product.